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This Land of Strangers

"..the most important book of the decade." — Richard Boyatzis, co-author of best seller Primal Leadership

Relationships, in all their varied forms, have been the lifetime study of Robert Hall. He brings a rare combination of experience as a researcher, consultant, writer, teacher and CEO in dealing with the real-world relationship challenges of modern organizations. When coupled with a decade of hands-on experience in the gritty world of inner-city homeless families it translates into a tapestry of vivid stories, well-researched and oft startling facts, and strategic insights that weave together the yet untold narrative of society's gravest risk and most stellar opportunity.

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Blog & Articles

Robert has published more than 150 columns, articles, white papers, and research studies on relationship. In addition to being a regular contributor at Huffington Post, his work has been published and discussed in Forbes, American Banker, Sales & Marketing Management magazine, The CEO Magazine, ABA Bank Marketing magazine, Computerworld, The Daily Beast, Business Week, The Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, The Detroit News, The Indianapolis Star and in international publications including Sydney Morning News (Australia), European Financial Management Association (London) and Relational Thinking Network (Cambridge, UK).

Relational Leadership: Where Relationships Lead and Capital Follows, by Robert Hall, Huffington Post

Jun 27

Half of survey respondents identified lack of trust as a threat to their growth prospects – up sharply from 37 percent in 2013. – 17th Annual PwC CEO Survey

Distrust and disengagement in business has gone viral, infecting our relationships like drug-resistant superbugs. It is what happens when a society grows resistant to its leadership. CEOs see the trend and feel the heat. Richard Edelman, reviewing Edelman Trust’s latest trust survey, redefines today’s leadership priority for CEOs as being […]

Article

The Disengagement Economy, by Robert Hall, Huffington Post

Mar 25

“The costs of a “lost generation”… disconnected from both school and work… tops $4.7 trillion.” — Ben Casselman, Marcus Walker, “Wanted: Jobs for the New ‘Lost’ Generation,” Wall Street Journal, 9/14/13

Disengagement is a defining mega-trend in today’s world. With all the talk about “disengaged” leaders and followers not to mention the unemployed who are disengaged from work altogether, maybe we just go ahead and name our new normal the Disengagement Economy. Mostly we have given disengagement a pass because after all […]

Article

The CEO as Chief Relationship Officer, by Robert Hall, The CEO Magazine

Jun 6

At some point, the strategy is to execute.

While the CEO role as chief strategy decider gets much of the hype, it is the challenge of business execution that so often drives results – or not. And, sustained execution is a relationship game. It is a matter of building relational commitment that leads stakeholders – subordinate managers, employees, customers, shareholders, and suppliers – to perform unnatural acts. Acts like reporting

bad news that no one wants to hear, committing fully […]

Article

Video: Social Media Breakfast Dallas April 25, 2013

Mar 15

Sign up now to see Robert Hall speak at socialmediabreakfastdallas.com and see what he has to say about relationships being our single most valuable resource and how technology is effecting us, April 25, 2013.

Be more intentional, build community and establish relationship leadership and succeed at home, at work, in politics, and in faith.

Blog Post

2012 – Flight from Relationship, by Robert Hall, Huffington Post

Jan 22

The untold story of 2012 is how “not” became the new relationship normal — not married, not a parent, not a close friend, not a loyal customer, not a committed employee, not a Democrat nor Republican and not affiliated with organized religion. This flight from relationship flies in the face of a society that says individual relationships matter most, and where many organizations attempt to brand themselves as “relationship” focused. We speak in the poetry of relationships — home, family, […]

Article

The 2012 Election, by Robert Hall, Huffington Post

Dec 12

“By mid October, the Obama team had personally… spoken with each voter 5 times. Not ‘sent a letter’ but actually spoken, face-to-face, or via phone, on average 5 times!” Tomi T. Ahonen, Communities-Dominate.Blogs.com, describing personal contacts of targeted voters.

Politics aside, one of the defining stories of the 2012 presidential election was how sales and marketing relationship-building efforts delivered unexpected, targeted voter turnout. Even the Romney campaign was in awe of the Obama “ground game.” While much has been made about Obama’s sophisticated […]

Article

Soft Skills, Dog Love and Front Porches

Oct 3

“Nearly 20% of employers cited a lack of soft skills as a key reason they couldn’t hire needed employees. Interpersonal skills and enthusiasm/motivation were commonly found lacking” – USA Today quoting Manpower Group’s 2012 Talent Shortage Survey

• • •

It is tragic that in this era of painfully high unemployment, employers are struggling to find the basic skills needed to answer phones effectively and converse with customers. The need for stronger math and science skills in today’s highly sophisticated world is much […]

Article

“This Land of Strangers” hits #1 on Amazon’s Best Sellers in Government

Aug 15

I would like to thank everyone for responding to the word about my book and for your purchases. On August 20, This Land of Strangers made it to #1 on Amazon’s Best Sellers in Government. Thank you for your continued support!

Robert E. Hall

Blog Post

Barnes & Noble Special Event: August 11

Aug 7

Meet Robert E. Hall,
author of This Land of Strangers

It is the crisis that everyone feels but that has gone unnamed. We see the pieces: families disintegrating; communities in chaos; businesses losing the trust of customers and employees; political and religious discourse that sows dysfunction and divide. Yet until now, no one has connected the dots that reveal the larger narrative. Our broken relationships have a death grip on economic, political, and social advancements that capitalism, democracy, social programs, and tax […]

Blog Post